For those who like H!P ^_^, plus a learning experience!

So simply put, Cat’s♥Eye 7 was a short-lived unit created to basically promote the members’ stageplay Cat’s Eye. Almost all of the H!P Kids are involved except Buono!, Chinami, and Chisato. Really there’s not much else to say really about the group here.

Style of Music: Their one single was pretty much a dance track

Discography

Singles

CAT’S♥EYE

Yeah, weird to see that a stageplay unit actually getting a PV right? Loving how everyone looks and probably Captain’s shining moment!

Overall: I was surprised that there was a little more promotion handed to stageplay units with Cat’s♥Eye 7. Personally, I think with their song being a cover of an ANRI classic, whoever produced this really fucked things up by haphazardly throwing auto-tune all over every girl (except Captain as she had the epic rapping sections and Maasa sounded decent under it). Otherwise the auto-tune destroyed the song to death. This did made me wonder why the other H!P kids were missing for this (Buono! I can understand, but not Chisato/Chinami). If you wanna hear a decent Cat’s Eye cover search up MAX’s version!

Peaberry – Cabbage Hakusho

L to R: Ayaka Wada, Riho Sayashi

Starting off with the bigger known group or the one that had a little more prominance, we have a duo group between Ayacho and Riho…two of the more controversial ladies amongst the fandom on whether their vocals work or not. For a toss, we get Cabbage Hakusho which is surprisingly a ballad which most fans were already quite worried with it. As such, Peaberry wasn’t all that bad considering their vocals weren’t pushed like normal.

So without talking about what SATOYAMA is about…it’s basically the revival of environment friendly groups (like EcoMoni & Tomoiki Ki wo Uetai). Though it also shaped up to be like a revival of the shuffle units but not necessarily being one? It’s weird. So it really shows in the Cabbage Hakusho PV. I mean the two are standing in a meadow basically and they go in a forest and inside a house…it’s a simplistic video really…oh yeah and something related to cabbage at the end…yeah it was that interesting hahah.

DIY♡ – Forefore ~Forest For Rest~

The largest of the four groups was actually DIY♡ which was mainly 4 of the H!P Kids and recently joined member Harunan. When I saw them, I thought they were going to get some blah summer song which would’ve made sense with the outfits and all. Though when I heard Forefore, I was surprised that it was a dance track and really didn’t fit with the other groups songs (which is probably a reason why I loved this group as much I did).

As for the PV, it really didn’t feel like environmental awareness to me. It just seemed like the ladies just hanging out, dancing, and having a barbeque for the most part. Also, the club scenes are a bit random in the first half of the PV…(oh yeah all the groups mentioned had two versions of their PV). It didn’t do much like the other PVs had, but with a song like Forefore, I was more than happy to see all THE LEGS this video had to offer lmao!

Harvest – Forest Time

L to R: Erina Ikuta, Ayumi Ishida, Masaki Sato, Akari Takeuchi

The next group was a pretty nice treat as most listeners at that time didn’t have a full grasp on what the new members sound like (10th Gen Momusu & 2nd Gen S/mileage) so Harvest was a good taste for it (though only Takechan was here). Their song, Forest Time is the cutest of the four songs and it definitely had the cutest voices thrown in as well. Personally, I don’t remember too much of this song nor my excitement was really all that great with Harvest, but it could’ve been there was other things that caught my attention.

When I watched the PV again, it feels like the previous two PVs jammed together. It has choreography and centers around a pretty pasture with farming as its main motif. There’s something a bit too cheesy for my interests here and the girls while looking like they get along just fine…was a bit distracting from the whole SATOYAMA experience I suppose. It isn’t bad, just not an interesting song or PV for me.

GREEN FIELDS – Boys be ambitious!

L to R: Saki Shimizu, Yuka Miyazaki, Aika Mitsui

The group that REALLY caught my eye was actually GREEN FIELDS. I mean a trio of different girls on different ideas. I mean you have Captain who wasn’t too much of a surprise. Aika who earlier had JUST graduated from Morning Musume so this marks her first act after it and Yuka Miyazaki who at the time of the group’s creation was under Up-Front, but not under H!P. Their song, Boys be ambitious! like Peaberry is a ballad and it’s just as relaxing (or mind-numbing). Of course, it was surprising to know that Aika actually got lead lines with Captain behind and Yuka getting a little here and there.

The PV is like most of the others, simple in nature and GREEN FIELDS kind of takes it to a new low. They’re sitting around singing in a ho-hum leans oh and bicycling…yeah that’s really it for the most part.

Overall: When Tsunku announced the SATOYAMA units (when it was just simply Peaberry and DIY♡) I was a little confused because it was another try at environmental awareness and to be honest that wasn’t interesting. So this was a little worrisome. When Harvest and GREEN FIELDS were announced later on in the year, I was even more worried and curious to know what would happen. To be honest, I wasn’t interested in most of the songs here. They were either ballads (which while I like GREEN FIELDS, it was a lil boring and Peaberrys was just the second coming of EcoMoni without the need of ~ass saving them~. Harvest was too generic for my tastes and well…DIY♡ was the best one…the only memorable in my book. I thought it was a one-time deal…BUT I WAS WRONG XD.

Fitting that PB12 would open up with the big song of the year (well, big as in most members involved! Busu ni Naranai Tetsugaku was at a nice time because we were getting new members left and right (and some leaving as well) so it was kind of a nice calm down. Most people though were kind of hoping that there was some sense of knowing the girls through solo lines are specific groupings and there’s no such luck. There are solos and duet lines, but they were for the more popular members (Gaki, Reina, Riho, Airi, Maimi, Risako, Miyabi, and Yuuka). The song itself wasn’t anything new at the time for H!P because they were using synth horns everywhere. I used to be huge in love with it, but nowadays I’m just kind of here and there with it since it was so plain to me.

2. Makeru na Wasshoi!

I thought it was surprising they’d include this song from Bekimasu (a song that was released before the whole Mobekimasu shtick happened). That said, Makeru na Wasshoi! is one of the oddest songs I’ve listened to in this almost current day and age of H!P. Since it is between Berryz, °C-ute, ManoEri, and 4-nin S/mileage (as in the original lineup). Also they are grouped by 4 (except one that had 5) and we go from there. Like “Busu ni Naranai Tetsugaku” the solo lines are really between the main members (this time it’s Airi, Miyabi, Yuuka, Maimi, Risako, Erina, and Saki). The thing about the song that makes it so odd is that the chorus has a very odd moment in where they purposely make the final stanzas of the chorus sound like it’s skipping (the ~chou dakishimetai~ area). It has always thrown me off and I still can’t get behind it much.

3. Maji Desu ka Ska!

So now the rest of the album has a pretty down-pat pattern to it (that the PB series from here on out will follow). Starting wit Morning Musume, we get the debut track for the 9th Generation members! Everyone was wondering what the song would be like because of the young blood that had joined. Funny, when I got this song I had edited the group laughing out in the intro of the song because I always found it stupid to have included. Though once the song kicks in, it’s a pretty fun track! Everyone seemed to get a lot of nice face time and solo lines. Of course most of it was on Reina and Ai-chan so it was understandable. I love the energy and fun vocals. Definitely worth hearing if you’re trying to get into current Momusu because once Sayu leaves it’s the 9th Generation and so you can hear where they all started!

4. Only you

Not a lot of people were expecting the group to go back to Platinum Emo-musume with the single that came out after, Only you. Though when I heard the song/PV…I was blown away. I love the dramatics of the song and personally Ai-chan gave an epic performance here. Yes, the song was the beginning of showing Riho’s soon to be ace position and everything, but hey we needed something. I also have to praise Tsunku on using triplets everywhere, making things a little more hectic. Riho did sound a slight bit tight and high-pitched against well Ai and Reina but it definitely worked as with Gaki’s auto-tuned sections. Definitely one of my favorite songs of all time…just so damn good!

5. Jishin Motte Yume wo Motte Tobitatsu Kara

Another surprise, I wasn’t expecting Ai-chan’s solo song to make the cut (especially since the A-side from said single isn’t here). Anywho, this song kind of was a different sound compared to most of the other songs released this year by being a bit more rock-centric. I do love Ai’s voice and all, but you can hear that she was kind of laking energy and/or interest to the song itself. I even started to feel bored of the track despite loving her vocals. That’s just a tad bit strange, no? I don’t know…

6. Heroine ni Narou ka!

Right around when I started to fully immerse myself with Hello! Project, Berryz released Heroine ni Narou ka! and besides the blatant homage to Lady Gaga in the PV, this song was pretty damn amazing. Slowly and for some reason, Tsunku was pushing Yurina a lot! Here I couldn’t tell where she was until I found out that she had a lot of the auto-tuned lines and the finishing ~HEROIIIIIINE~. I really loved the energy here as well because it’s dance beats and heavy moments as well. Definitely a strong song for the group.

7. Ai no Dangan

Which carried over through the year because all of their A-sides were winners in my book. Ai no Dangan had a much grittier set which was a nice change after the last couple of singles. Of course, the lines were kind of expected and followed a rather linear path but it definitely worked since most of the girls sound great (even Maasa and Chinami). Add on the PV where most of them were just hawt as hell and this song stuck to me a lot!

8. Kiss me Aishiteru

Just seems like everyone is just having a badass year so far right? °C-ute was also known to have a pretty awesome year. After picking themselves up after the whole “Shocking 5” era, Kiss me Aishiteru blew my mind. We haven’t had a really heavy dance track from the group to showcase their awesome dancing talent and boy did this kick down the doors. It’s a really epic song with a furious and driving arrangement that moves into some great vocals and personally where I started to notice the Chisato push! It’s a fun song and when the chorus comes and they start to repeat the ~ne, ne, ne & please, please, please~ lines…it just grows and keeps on this turbulent path. I love it so much…one of my favorite °C-ute songs!

9. Momoiro Sparkling

Which came to the single that came after and Momoiro Sparkling just kind of left my confused and wondering why the sudden shift from badassery to sugaryness. Some of the synthwork makes me think of TMNT: Turtles in Time but otherwise the song has a flowing feel to it. Like I said, initially, I wasn’t excited because I was so impressed by the previous track that it kind of killed anything after it including “Sekaiichi HAPPY na Onna no Ko”. Coming back to it now, I find it quite charming and the group sounds peppy enough to not bother me much. Yes, even Nakky and Maimai are tolerable (since back then I loathed their vocals). It’s a nice track to listen to occasionally!

10. Amazuppai Haru ni Sakura Saku

FINALLY, the H!P Kids are reunited to do a single together and the song is for a Horror movie…OH HELL YEAH I’M ALL FOR TH…oh WTF is this song?!? Yeah, if you thought we were going to end up with a badass song from the two groups, think again! This song definitely doesn’t encompass such a thing and turned out to be more a cute mid-tempo track that is kind of about graduation (remember this is 2011). There’s just something about this song that just says bland. Also there’s no solos, just a lot of groupings. I don’t know why, but this song doesn’t do anything for me and comes off a bit generic.

11. Seishun Gekijou

Though in a surprise there was another song the groups did that wasn’t released prior to the album, well physically. As the theme of their play, Sengoku Jieitai, Seishun Gekijou was surprisingly enough a ballad for the two groups (also was released on both their albums albeit seperated with different arrangements). With a light acoustic guitar and piano playing the track, I wasn’t expecting too much. Add that the song is sung in unison alongside a male singer and you basically got this track. It wasn’t all that memorable to me and stood out even less than the previous tune.

12. Seishun no Serenade

Getting to ManoEri’s efforts, Seishun no Serenade was another song I totally forgot after reviewing said single on my main blog. This song is a bit more progressive than most of her previous efforts at least and it actually tries to push Erina’s vocals more which is nice to hear, but she still sounds a bit flat and tone-deaf in areas. It’s OK, but the song is just there and lost amongst the other songs on the album.

13. My Days for You

The other song she releases tones the tempo down slightly for a more lighter pop track. I do like that with this, Erina’s vocals can calm down and she could just sing without putting too much effort here. I can admit that this song was slightly better than “Seishun no Serenade”, but that really doesn’t mean much because I still don’t recall this song much (plus the Gaki version makes this look bad nowadays), just saying.

14. Short Cut

I was surprised they chose this over “Uchouten LOVE” since it was the big hit in 2011. Though knowing this would be the last appearance of Sakitty in a PB (and Yuuka for that matter), Short Cut was never a big song for me. When this was announced, I kind of just forgot about it because it just didn’t do anything for me besides being there (and I already wasn’t the biggest S/mileage fan too). Coming back to it, Short Cut is OK for the group and something I was fully expecting from their previous singles. Squeaky vocals aside, I guess it’s alright but expected.

15. Tachiagirl

Wow the hubbub when this single released. With Saki had just left and the “sub-members” thing going, this single really split the fandom quite a bit! For me, I was lost with what Tsunku was trying to do with this whole system (especially since we had 5 sub-members for god sakes). When it came to the song, it actually reminded me of “Short Cut” ironically >.>. Even worse is that the 5 new ladies were basically there to just add ~YAYs~ and ~WOO-HOOs!~ so they really were pushed back for the 3 remaining members, Ayaka, Kanon, and Yuuka. This song is alright, but I wish the other members had more appearance (though we couldn’t have “Please Miniskirt Postwoman!” since Petit Best 12 was out before the single was. Also like I said last appearance of Yuuka on a PB and the first AND last for Fuyuka…what a messed up time this was >.<

16. Zassou no Uta

Oh we get a Buono! song to close things out? After the long string of meh songs, Zassou no Uta was a song I loved and was excited that the group didn’t disband due to Shugo Chara! ending. Zassou no Uta retained the awesome rock feel that Buono! has had since forever. Although, here it feels a little less mixed with their idol/anison style, so it feels like Buono! was actually a rock group for a hot minute. Add on that Airi, Miyabi, Momoko sound amazing in this track…just one of the cool songs released this year and I fell in love with it!

17. Asaasamba

Oh a bonus track? Cool…wait…Koharu?!? WTF she left long ago what the hell is this song doing here? If you didn’t know, the song was used on Oha Star. Why it made this compilation doesn’t make too much sense beyond it’s Koharu ex-Morning Musume…why not?!? Listening to this, I do like it does have a samba arrangement, but it’s Koharu…it sucks vocally. I do think she slightly got better than her final Kirarin single, but she still sounds way to cutesy for me. Weird…

Tracks Recommended

Kiss me Aishiteru

Only you

Heroine ni Narou ka!

Zassou no Uta

Maji Desu ka Ska!

When it comes to Petit Best 12, things were starting to show that H!P was going to not care so much about the PB series. The whole 2 song per act was a bit odd to me, but hey it makes things a bit more cleaner. Onto the album itself, it was pretty good (well the first half). I swear the first half was pretty godly in songs even if there were some odd things. However, once we got into the Berryz/°C-ute collaborative effort, the album just kind of nosedived into mehness (except for Buono!’s song). I know some of these songs are fan favorites, but I actually didn’t care for most of these songs and to end it off with KOHARU of all people was just H!P trolling because Asaasamba suuuucked. Still a lot of my favorites on here so I’m going to give it a 7/10.

So during the wild time in 2011, Tsunku (H!P/UFP?) had their annual stageplay and it seems that they finally made them slightly important again. Titled Reborn ~Inochi no Audition~, this play was kind of getting well-known names in History together and well…I’m not exactly sure what else is going on in the play. Though the surprising element here was that a one-time unit was created to just simply promote the play with a single of the same name. After that, well they went their seperate ways.

Style of Music: Even though stageplay music isn’t the strongest H!P music fare (until recently it seems) Reborn ~Inochi no Audition~ felt repetitive pop music with some slight disco vibes.

Discography

Singles

Reborn ~Inochi no Audition~

(Skip to 2:35 for the song). This is the song in question, I mean I do enjoy that the 9th Generation get a lot of lines (and Gaki and Reina at that) but man you see some familiar faces!

Overall: Knowing that Aika originally had Reina’s role before her injury, I so could’ve seen this to be great for her overall…but alas it wasn’t meant to be. Reborn Eleven is an interesting unit I mean you had a lot of Momusu of course but you have Haruka (who just became a 10th gen member), Karin & Sayuki (even though the latter wasn’t a part of said unit (nor sang). Also interesting to see Erika and at that point UUG member Sengoku and Morisaki being included. I would’ve loved to have seen this group go farther, but considering the group’s shtick…it wasn’t meant to be.

So back in 2011, Tsunku quietly announced a rather interesting unit (that sort of reached back to the days when the shuffle units were active. In the interesting turnout, he stuffed the 4 active units/soloists together (with no Morning Musume) to form H!P Bekimasu (the name coming from putting the first syllable of the group’s name (and ManoEri’s surname) in chronological order. They released a performance only digital single titled “Makeru na Wasshoi!” before news started churning with a more filled out unit! Oh and they rereleased their single at the end of 2011.

Interestingly enough, I suppose Tsunku thought the idea to bring back the supergroup was there because shortly after in September, he announced that ALL of the groups will get together to release a single titled “Busu ni Naranai Tetsugaku”. The noticeable changes here were that S/mileage had just gone through a BIG shift in members with gaining 5 new members and losing Sakitty in the process. Also if you don’t know it, Fuu-chan was a part of the group, but when she had to leave due to her sickness she was quietly booted out of 90% of the promotion (I think the pic above and the singular group pictures are the only instances besides some behind-the-scenes stuff for the PV. Another is that Aika was missing in some of the promos but she is in group pictures and the PV itself too (due to her injury). Finally, Morning Musume had just gotten their 10th generation as well and they don’t really appear much officially, they helped perform on live shows. At the end of the day, I think it was just simply a one-shot group as since this release, nothing much has happened with this group (plus Gaki, Aika, Reina, Yuukarin, and soon, Sayu and the Berryz are graduating) there really hasn’t been much importance here.

Style of Music: Bekimasu’s only song is very idol-like and odd to listen to because it has a strange gimmick to it >.>

Mobekimasu’s single had a bit of a nice selection. The main song was more in line of the recent amount of disco-y songs (a short period where Tsunku was kind of repeating himself). Moshimo… while sung by 5 of the cuter voices in H!P was upbeat and peppy while Kacchoii Uta (a version for every act in H!P) was almost pop/rock ala Buono!. They did all have one thing in common and that’s the wild amount of synth horns…yikes.

Discography

Singles

Makeru na Wasshoi! (re-released in December)

Busu ni Naranai Tetsugaku

So this is about as official of a PV we’ll get of Makeru na Wasshoi! as this was found on the Petit Best 12 DVD. I still get confused with that chorus that makes thing the song is skipping all over the place XD

This is the only PV Mobekimasu released, Busu ni Naranai Tetsugaku and it was meant to really show off what H!P is like and for the most part it was OK. A bit polarizing since there wasn’t a lot of solo lines for any of the non-front girls (hell ManoEri didn’t get one) and Riho was front and center for the choreography.

Overall: Bekimasu was surprising because I actually didn’t recall anyone who was interested at all about this formation. Plus, even I had glossed over the release initially, not realizing it’s existance until after Mobekimasu’s release. Even then, the song wasn’t all that great despite most of the leading voices got lines (and is ironically the last time we’d hear Sakitty sing on a single).

When Mobekimasu was announced it was around the crazy time when H!P was massively shifting around since Saki and Ai-chan had left/graduated and Momusu/S/mileage were dealing with the new members. Plus Berryz and C-ute were also having a collaborative single so everything was just busy for everyone. Their release did make fans think of H.P. All Stars which makes sense because everyone in H!P were getting together (except the Eggs again >.>). For what it’s worth it wasn’t bad but it didn’t feel like we were getting what H!P was all about especially since there wasn’t lines for everyone involved like there was back in the day. Also, this came out in November, I think we could’ve squeezed in the new Momusu members to make it seem a little more cooler. This wasn’t a bad concept…but it could’ve been handled better.

So todays post is really about the introduction of the 9th Gen, which was long awaited and needed after the triple graduation that was 2010. Yup at the beginning of 2011 we were introduced to our new generation that consisted of Riho Sayashi, Erina Ikuta, Kanon Suzuki, and Mizuki Fukumura. They were the new blood of the group (although the age gap was pretty damn evident). Of course we’re going through this era that was pretty much this lineup up to Ai-chan’s graduation (which was also the debut of the 10th gen, but that’s the next post). So the PVs I will be reviewing are Maji Desu ka Ska!, Only you, Kono Chikyuu wo Heiwa wo Honki de Negatterun da yo!, Kare to Issho ni Omise ga Shitai!, and the Ai solo, Jishin Motte Yume wo Motte Tobitatsu Kara.

Maji Desu ka Ska!

The Song: Like I said, it’s the debut for the 9th Generation and they were going to get a pretty big boost to show off this new blood of Morning Musume. Of course the first lines are split between the newbies while the elders get the second part of the verses with Ai/Reina taking up most of the other lines. It’s definitely a much brighter song than previous entries from Morning Musume so it’s a much needed and pleasant feel.

What Genre is it?: Ska of course! It’s in the title!

The Premise: There wasn’t one to be found out…although there is a kind of interesting story with the whole Aika in the grandpa outfit. It’s supposed to be based on a folk legend based on and old man and cacti…Yeah something us Westerners wouldn’t totally understand otherwise.

The Setting: It’s like they took the white room from “Onna to Otoko no Lullaby Game” and reused it again. Though they took this song quite literal by putting the kanji of the song and well…stuck in the middle of the dancefloor (with the members dancing playing around it). Otherwise there’s not much else to it besides the solo shots with the colorful backgrounds. Kind of empty though considering how wide it looks.

The Outfits: To be honest, the outfits for the most part really reminded me of something Avril Lavigne would wear. It’s kind of like they’re wearing punk outfits. The newer members have somewhat more bold colors (it’s not their member color mind you). The only other thing here is that Aika was the only one to have a 2nd outfit (bring the old man getup, ironically). It was interesting and I loved that the girls accessorized here. Though the new girls had skull n’ crossbones on their jackets. Cool though!

The Choreography: For being a Ska track it was hard to picture there’d be a dance to it (Koko ni Iruzee! had one, but it wasn’t exactly together dancing). It also brought an interesting twist by adding line dancing in the chorus. Have to say that it’s great to see the group smiling and having fun and just looking like they enjoy bring around each other (though it does make me wonder how fragmented it really was considering the age gap and everything). Overall it was OK.

PV as a whole: Even though the single had to be pushed back because of the Touhoku Earthquake, Maji Desu ka Ska! was pretty good to introduce the new generation equally. I know we had a poppy song with “Seishun Collection” but this one was so genki and brought the members into a brighter light especially with the graduation that had happened a single before. The PV felt slightly empty but the energy and goofy atmosphere made up for it. Though the whole Aika thing flew by my head even though it’s clever wordplay/meaning etc.

Only you

The Song: It didn’t seem like Tsunku was totally ready to leave the Emo-musume songs and released this wacky entry. Initially, I was thrown off by the verses but it just seem like Tsunku fell in love with using triplets in the song but I quickly fell in love with it. It’s also known unofficially as the song that really split the fandom of Riho who was the only 9th Gen member to get solo lines next to Ai-chan, Gaki, and Reina.

What Genre is it?: Back then, people thought it was pretty dubsteppy, but honestly it doesn’t come off that way, just some clever musical choices here. It’s a pretty cool song that’s set along their more dance-centric style that they’ve been used to.

The Premise: Nothing to note in this area.

The Setting: Most of the PV is the dance shot which is shot on a stage with some drapes behind (sounding like something they’d utilize later). Of course this set transitions from it’s white setting to a red setting. The other big group setting is when they’re sitting together and cadelabras surround them and diamonds float around the group too (digitally of course). Then there’s the solo shots that feature the ladies with a diamond-like background (like pretty effects).

The Outfits: It was pretty weird to see the group getting such boring outfits for Only you. It’s all white! (like “SEXY BOY”). Though it seems the generational gap appeared again but through their outfits. It seems like the new members got these short outfits while the elders got something that’s more towards dresses. At first it didn’t seem so bad, but watching Riho when she gets the front line, it looks slightly awkward…couldn’t they have bothered just having the members fit in the group at this point???

The Choreography: I can say that their dancing has slightly gotten a bit more stronger starting with this PV. There’s just a lot of quick and sharp movements involved and all the members looked comfortable doing it. I love the dance and seeing so much intuitive motions really had me excited.

PV as a whole: Everyone thought after “Maji Desu ka Ska!” the group was going to focus more on the new members with their music, but Tsunku blew that out of the water and gave us a pretty edgy and cool song overall. Yeah, the PV is kind of a glorified dance-shot, but there’s just something about this PV that caught my eye. From Riho’s apparant push to Ai-chan’s sudden short blonde hair to even Gaki getting auto-tuned, Only you was a blast and is one of my favorite songs from Momusu in recent times.

Kono Chikyuu wo Heiwa wo Honki de Negatterun da yo!

The Song: We’re finally here, Ai-chan’s final single which was a big deal to many as she was leader since Mikitty’s departure. I was surprised she did get her own edition and it was made a big deal. This single was also the first to be quite revolving as in this song and “Kare to Issho ni Omise ga Shitai!” had PVs that rolled into one another in an endless loop. It’s a pretty interesting concept and one that I felt worked.

What Genre is it?: It’s very disco-centric. Upbeat and has a lot of groove to it!

The Premise: I’m not sure of the premise. I mean it does begin with the ladies sleeping and waking up in a dream simultaneously the same? Though I don’t think it’s much of a premise though Ai gains a star at the end…Kind of vague premise (if that was the case).

The Setting: Starting off, we see the girls sleeping in a white room as they wake up and make the transition over, the setting changes incredibly! The setting is in space (well for the solo scenes) while the dance shot is clearly taken from Rainbow Road. Yeah the one from Mario Kart (reminds me of the MK8 remake of the N64 Mario Kart to be quite honest!). There’s also the group closeup scene which is still on the fantastic and colorful setting and the solo shots which consisted of the girls standing in front of silver sparkles basically. Definitely a pretty video, though busy as shit!

The Outfits: They have two although one clearly takes priority. The first is their sleepers and pajamas which are all different between the members which is cool and once they enter the twilight zone, the outfits dramatically change to these golden goddesses. Even better that all the girls wear similar outfits! They looked real good, especially Ai and Gaki…whew~~

The Choreography: After the more aggressive “Only you”, Kono Chikyuu. lightens the mood up a bit and kind of has this weird line dance but in a disco-y way. Though it was pretty good regardless for the 8 of them. What, you’re wondering why 8 because there’s 9 members? Well, during the “Only you” promotion Aika injured her leg well enough that she had to basically not appear in any dance-shots from here onto her graduation unfortunately. Still what a pretty fun dance.

PV as a whole: Being the first part of this pretty lengthy video, Kono Chikyuu… was a kind of soft-hitting disco song that really made Ai-chan become the pretty awesome vocalist she is. It’s a pretty fun song with a pretty damn colorful PV with such a mix this song definitely left a mark on me…though could it be surpassed?

Kare to Issho ni Omise ga Shitai!

The Song: While Kono Chikyuu… was the love letter for Ai from the group, Kare to Issho ni Omise ga Shitai! was more about the future of the group and how they would move on. Interestingly enough, the song is actually the B-side of the single. Originally, it was a double A-side but due to Ai’s edition of the single it would’ve thrown the sales for a loop. This song was more around Reina and Sayumi though let’s be honest Sayu had so much facetime here that it might as well been her song XD.

What Genre is it?: Definitely idol pop at its finest, including synth horns for gosh sakes XD. Also very genki something we haven’t seen in quite a while.

The Premise: There’s a lot to this PV though do they all lead somewhere….not really because we’re in Sayumi’s dream and boy is it wacky as hell. I mean there’s points where it tries to go somewhere, but it rewinds itself back and repeats the process. It’s very wacky and had some pretty bizarro situations.

The Setting: Well, I mean suffice to say that like it’s A-side, it’s heavily done by green-screened. Add some vivid colors and wild animation, you basically have the video! Plus it is viewed as Sayumi’s dreamscape so the setting was going to be random and silly. Most of the time we get the members doing something random here and there. Though they do have group shots together (although there’s not a WHOLE lot going on there since Aika is in these shots too and she’s once again dutied to sit on a stool).

The Outfits: Unsurpringly enough if you’ve read this far, then you should know that the outfits would just be as wild and random as the PV they were given. Each of the members has their own unique outfit that quite surrounded by the colors of yellow, blue, and orange being the predominant choices (though Ai-chan got some red). They’re so bright and adds to the lighthearted atmosphere of the song and PV as well!

The Choreography: I was kind of shocked to learn that this PV actually had no dance. Might be because of Aika, but it didn’t seem like it was going to happen regardless. Otherwise most of the video with them dancing is in the group shot but they’re just bouncing around and being cute and peppy.

PV as a whole: Well, knowing that this PV and “Kono Chikyuu” are played together as an endless roll which is pretty unique to the group. Even watching it, I was so happy to see something like this because it feels like it’s been forever since the group was having so much fun and being crazy random. Even to the point where the members started to make wacky faces. It’s one of those rare times where I was just head over heels for the entire package. It’s one of my favorite tracks today!

Jishin Motte Yume wo Motte Tobitatsu Kara

The Song: So the final PV I’m talking about in this post is actually a solo song from Ai-chan (which we all know, was her love letter to the fans basically). It’s not the first time this time, but this is the first that we get a PV for such a moment. There’s not too much I can say otherwise, but it does start a trend of graduating members getting their own PV. For me, Ai’s song was pretty straight to the books…maybe a little too much, but hell Ai sung it well!

What Genre is it?: It’s actually a a pop/rock song (odd for Ai, but hey w/e).

The Premise: Not too much, but it does kind of show Ai remembering the past (with all those pictures of her past strung across the room and all that). Not much else really lol.

The Setting: It kind of mostly sets itself in a studio for the most part which does give the impression of a more intimate setting perhaps? The otherside of this kind of puts her in this barren set with pictures of her tenure in H!P strung across. Kind of plain, I suppose.

The Outfits: There was only one outfit Ai wore for this video and it’s a rather simple suit and jeans kind of ordeal. Not much else to really comment about here since it really is that simple.

The Choreography: None here to be quite honest.

PV as a whole: Being the first PV to just have one member at its focus. Jishin Motte…while sent Ai off on a good note is otherwise a very bland PV. I mean the two settings was nice and the pictures were cute, but let’s be honest Ai was definitely done with being an idol and it was showing heavily here. I mean she could’ve done more than swiveled around and hung around her mic…it just didn’t do much for me.

*sigh* I had figured this would’ve happened, but damn I am still disappointed that once again in a row that Tsunku opted out of this audition by cancelling it…well not really but damn. Anyways earlier this year, Mai Satoda (pictured above) announced this audition to revive Country Musume (you know H!P’s tragic group). Well today a post on H!P’s main site solidified what I had come to expect.

“Country Musume New Member Audition Notification

Thank you very much for participating in the Country Musume New Member Auditions.As a result of the judges strict examination, no one passed.We had many auditionees who participated with much enthusiasm, and we can’t thank you enough for that.Continue to cheer for Hello! Project

Country Musume New Member Audition Secretary”

Really? You didn’t find anyone because they were “too” enthusiastic…that’s the lamest excuse in the book. I mean you have Kenshuusei waiting to do something and ALL the other girls who audition and they say it’s too enthusiastic? I mean H!P take a look around, what you guys need is a bright and enthusiastic group to basically deter the bore from the current groups as they’re all kind of meshing into a cool route and with Berryz finally to disband basically (and let’s be real, the group looks bored as fuck nowadays) THIS NEEDED TO HAPPEN. Unless they are planning to announce a new KSS group REAL soon…this was the lamest audition to have to sit through. Useless as the time Atsuko Inaba held an audition and failed).

I am a little late on this, but let’s talk about it. At the Summer tour the group announced they’re going on an indefinite hiatus (to which Momoko admitted that they didn’t want to use disbandment because she wants the memory of the group to be alive).

Now the announcement doesn’t totally surprise me because I had said in my “Year In Review” posts that I was thinking the group would’ve announced this last year, but also they’ve said they were talking about this back then too. I like many others do feel like the group’s dynamic in these last couples of years have been slightly waning and I was OK with hearing this overall.

For me, I came in when they were beginning to promote “Otakebi Boy WAO! / Tomodachi wa Tomodachi Nanda!” so it definitely was a stronger hit on me because I’ve grown to love them and while they’ve had some meh songs, I really enjoyed a lot of their stuff. Plus some of my favorite H!P members are here so knowing they’ll be gone is pretty sad since now I have to find some more favorites.

Also, I’m sure this also affects Buono! which is just a big saddening thing because I wanted them to return and with Airi possibly the only member left (if BK aren’t fully leaving H!P). It’s a rather meh thing

It doesn’t make me feel much better that there’s rumours going that Kurumin and Hirona had left the KSS. The latter I believe because she has her own twitter now, but she didn’t leave too much of an impression on me (because she hasn’t been in the program for long) but Kurumin is so depressing. She was my next oshi in KSS after Aina left and now she isn’t on Hapipure anymore and word is is that she finished her training. It just makes me sad…I just hope the Country Musume auditions finishes soon (and 12 gen Momusu too).